Arth is about Pooja (Shabana Azmi), an orphan girl. Her husband Inder (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) hates her and he falls in love with another woman, Kavita (Smita Patil). He advices Kavita to leave her husband, but his husband refuses. She is helped by Raj (Raj Kiran) to surpass the difficulties of a life as a single person, to find a job and to rely morally on herself. Inder requests Pooja to sign the divorce papers. Pooja (Rohini Hattangadi) personally assures Kavita that she is not interested anymore in Inder. What happens next? Does Inder changes his mind and lives with Pooja? forms the rest of the story.